Support Fall River Educators
Fall River School Committee
Fall River public school educators have never been highest paid and over the past decade they have seen their earnings fall further behind other Gateway districts and many of the districts in the geographic area. This has led to challenges recruiting and retaining the educators that our students desperately need. Now, with Fall River Public Schools receiving more funding than ever before, it is time for Fall River to invest in its educators which is ultimately an investment in our students. The Fall River Educators Association is fighting for a new contract that will represent real commitments not just to the educators of Fall River, but also to the students and the families we serve. We are tired of putting Band-Aids on the structural problems with our schools and are demanding that our city pay for the schools that our students and families deserve.
If you agree that it's time for the City of Fall River to fully fund our schools and give our kids the resources they deserve, we ask you to add your name to this petition.
Sponsored by
To:
Fall River School Committee
From:
[Your Name]
We, the undersigned, respectfully ask the Fall River School Committee, as well as other leaders concerned about our city's future, to reach a transformative agreement with the Fall River Educators Association (FREA) that our students and families deserve.
We believe that the School Committee and the FREA share a common interest in creating and developing the schools our families deserve. Our schools are the heart of our community, and the dedicated educators who serve our children deserve a fair and just contract that reflects their invaluable contributions.
Fall River has a chance to invest in their future and transform our community. To accomplish this, the FREA is fighting for:
-Parental Leave that addresses the realities of the 21st Century. Currently, Fall River Public School educators have no parental leave policy. While most workers in Massachusetts qualify for Paid Family Leave, public employees are exempt from this benefit. We are asking the School Committee and Mayor to acknowledge the need for a comprehensive, guaranteed parental leave policy in order to attract and retain teachers.
-Competitive compensation to recruit and retain talented and experienced educators. Fall River has the least competitive average teacher salary in districts comparable to FRPS. The average Fall River teacher makes 17% less ($12,000) than the average teacher salary in similar districts. Just next door in New Bedford, teachers average $4,000 more in salary. This means educators with years of experience and connections in this community are forced to choose between prioritizing their own financial security and leaving a community that they know and love.
-Reasonable class size and caseloads for educators and students. We have presented proposals to increase the much-needed time to prepare lessons and student materials for regular and special educators at all grade levels. We have proposed limits to class sizes and caseloads to ensure our students will receive the support they need.
We need to end the mindset that our students deserve anything less than the very best. We need to properly invest in our schools and, in turn, the future of our community.
We urge you to work with the FREA and our community to ensure Fall River schools are the institutions that our children deserve.